A Pilgrim’s Odyssey

Weed And Dark Holes A Mile High

Walking the streets of Denver, one thing becomes clear: they smoke a lot of weed out here in Colorado.

I couldn’t help but ponder, what happens when you fill the hole of purpose with shadows of meaning.

Ten Cent Bags And Cognitive Dissonance In Denver, Colorado

In Denver today to teach a leadership class, I was three times confronted with the following, “a bag will cost you .10 cents.” This is thanks to a new law In the city and county of Denver, thanks no doubt, to transplants from California!

Can we do some remedial education on cognitive dissonance?

From Websters:

“the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change.”

Lessons In Ineptitude From Baltimore Schools

As reported this week, 41% of Baltimore public high school students failed to earn even a “D” grade point average. Twice the number of students than the previous year, distance learning during Covid didn’t work out so good.

The good news, the number of students with a B or better stayed about the same.

The lesson, personal responsibility is the most important lesson in life. And the most important factor in education isn’t money as we often hear. Baltimore schools outspend 97% of other large school districts. According to Forbes, that is almost $18,000 per student! Can someone give us that for our homeschool!

Humility From The Governor Of Alaska

What a day in Alaska! Speaking to law enforcement officers, their families, and others who support law enforcement from around Alaska, we had a surprise guest - the Governor of Alaska, Mike Dunleavy.

I handed off the mike to the Governor midway through my talk and he gave a heartfelt message on how he and Alaska backed those in blue, and how they wanted and needed to do better. A very busy man, no one would have even thought, "Where is the Governor?" for an event like this, but he showed up because the lives of those men and women mattered to him.

He let them know that they were known to him, that the lives of them and their families were important. It was a lesson we all can learn from. I was honored to be part of the event.

A Sense Of Place In Fairbanks

A native Alaskan, a report that the United States has the highest percentage of single-parent homes in the world, and an important conversation in a coffee shop years ago made today quite a day in Fairbanks, Alaska.

 

Clarity In the Midnight Sun

Waking up at 3am to see light in the Fairbank's sky reminded me of an important lesson I learned while an exchange student one summer in Iceland. 

Sometimes to find clarity, you have to empty yourself.

Clarity can definitely be found in the light of a midnight sun.

North To Alaska

Today is a traveling day as I head north to Alaska to speak. A beautiful and majestic land, it truly is the call of the wild and hearkens to freedom and possibility - at a risk of course. It is a brutal land where many big dreams have been crushed.

I overheard a conversation today on my first flight that is the opposite of that spirit. A young girl doing her best to live risk-free.

Go north young lady!

Our information age tries to fool people into thinking that if you are equipped with enough data you can live life with some sort of certainty. You can’t of course, and this inevitable insecurity leads to some very fragile people. But if you survive a journey into the wild, not only do you understand this, but you begin to thrive on the cold, hard reality of life and existence. Play it safe, you might just get paranoid. Head into the wild, you learn how to live and allow uncertainty to fuel your life.

Healthy Lifestyles & Early Rising

Recently, I’ve lost quite a few pounds by skipping breakfast and watching my calories. As I progressed, my aches and pains receded, and my motivation increased. Just a lifestyle change made a huge difference.

Getting up early has the same impact. Get up early, accomplish something immediately, you will feel better.

As life gets more complicated, these are necessary conditions for living fully. Simple to explain, often hard to do, the benefits immense.

When Coming Home Is Hard

First Responders looking for life in the rubble of the Surfside collapse were told they could go home as the effort would now be focused on recovery. There would be no more survivors.

But the first responders didn’t listen, and they kept looking.

A member of Israel’s search team told families: "I ask you all to look into my eyes, and I promise you we did everything. No effort was saved."

Coming home for all these workers will be hard, for a long time.

And while different, coming home can be hard for you and me too. Leaving our worldly endeavors and crossing the threshold into home should be a liminal endeavor. We should refocus and commit ourselves to those precious lives that inhabit the dwelling.

Coming home can be hard. Make sure when you cross that threshold you take a second to reset and focus, the things that matter are counting on you.

Remembering The Real Heroes

There are almost 2 million first responders in the United States.

The total number of Active Duty, National Guard, and Reserve troops is about 2.4 million.

That is over 4 million men and women who serve and protect our nation and communities. In a country of about 328 million, that is about 1.3%.

Do not take them for granted. And never forget that it is usually the few who carry the heaviest loads. And most importantly, use their service to remind you that doing the things that matter is worth it.